Chapter 27: Chapter 27

"Bolu decided to go stay with Fola's father in the hospital. This was because Mrs. Obed was adamant about leaving her daughter's bed side despite the persuasion from Mrs. Balogun.

Bolu left An-nur hospital in Maraba Jos with Femi to Zahrah hospital. On their way to the hospital, they bought some provisions for Mr. Obed.

They got there to meet him crying bitterly.

"Daddy stop crying, Fola isn't dead", Bolu told the crying man who was weeping on the hospital bed like a baby.

He jerked up and looked at Bolu in the face. "Are you saying this to pacify me or what?"

He was confused and didn't know what to believe.

'She told me herself that my daughter is dead and now she is saying otherwise', he thought to himself.

"Daddy, I am serious. It's just that she is in a coma. We mistook her for someone else that was why we thought she was dead", Bolu explained.

He heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you Lord! Come take me there. I need to see my daughter", he said rising up.

Femi pinned him down carefully. "No dad, not now. We need to be sure you are fine and good to go before we allow you. Besides, the doctor hasn't discharged you yet."

"Hope you two aren't lying to me", he looked at them suspiciously.

They both smiled and said, "No."

Femi commented, "Dad, we brought you some provisions. The doctor said you need them because of the rise in your blood pressure."

"Thank you. How is my wife doing also?", he asked them.

Bolu and Femi looked at each other and then Bolu replied with a smile. "She is fine."

They didn't know how best to tell him that his wife had refused to come stay by his bedside.

***********************

"Olamide Garba, do you take Rachel Olukoya as your wife?", the court minister asked.

"Yes I do", Olamide answered with a smile.

"Do you promise to love, honour, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?", the minister asked him again.

"Yes I do", he replied.

The minister turned to Rachel and asked her: " Rachel Olukoya, do you take Olamide Garba to be your husband?"

"Yes I do", Rachel responded with a grin.

"Do you promise to love, honour, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him?", he asked her again.

"Yes I do", she replied sharply.

"Olamide Garba and Rachel Olukoya, in as much as you two have agreed to live together in matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, I now declare you man and wife", the minister said and continued looking at Olamide. "You may now kiss the bride."

Olamide took her lips and kissed her like his life depended on it.

He was already falling heads over heels in love with Rachel for choosing him despite knowing how weak he was. He was grateful and at the same time feeling sympathy for her.

Rachel on the other hand was all smiles. She believed she now has all she had ever wanted. This was her dream and she had been able to achieve it with little effort.

The minister shook hands with Olamide and said to him. "Congratulations."

"Thank you sir", Olamide replied.

Their two witnesses, Mr Garba who was with a grim look and Bisi who was smiling at them congratulated the couple as they took their leave to the house.

The house of no return.

***********************

'That was too low of a wedding for a politician's son', Rachel mused to her.

Then she thought, 'I guess it's for the best since I am a wanted person. The next thing to do now is convince my father-in-law to grant my husband and I the permission to go live abroad. That way, everything will slide down and by the time I am back, they must have forgotten who I am and what I did.'

Then it stucked her, she got married without informing her mother. "I will go and inform her tomorrow", she said to herself as her husband came in from the bathroom.

He smiled at her and she smiled back. Then he moved closer to her on the bed and pecked her lips.

"I love you for choosing me", he said.

"I have loved you ever since I knew you", she replied honestly.

"But I can't help but remember how you cheated on me with T-boy", Olamide said with a frown.

"It was not my fault. You also cheated on me with Fola. Besides, I made it known to T-boy that you are the only man I desire and want to be with but he wouldn't listen."

"But I didn't do anything with Fola", he defended.

"You dated her", she cornered him.

"Yes and that was because my dad forced me too."

"I understand", Rachel said looking away.

"You need to be punished baby girl", he said flirtingly.

Rachel laughed and said, "No, not in my condition."

"Come on, it's our wedding night", he said moving closer to her. "Let's consummate our marriage."

"Alright, but you need to be gentle on me, for the baby", she whispered into his ears.

That action tickled Olamide and he struck Rachel softly on the buttocks and laughed. "You are a bad girl. Alright, I agree", and he kissed her roughly.

He brought out a whip from under his bed and a few minutes later, they were lost in a world of consummation.

Rachel moaned in pain which Olamide mistook for pleasure as he hit her with the whip continuously.

Then, she cried out loud but he wasn't listening. He was in a world of his own.

He whipped her buttocks with all his strength till Rachel collapsed under him.

"That was great babe", he whispered as he laid beside her but he was met with silence.

She touched her and then he realised she had passed out.

************************

Rachel was discharged from the hospital a week later. The doctor advised her to stay away from sex for the time being because she almost lost the baby again.

By the time it was exactly 2 weeks of her stay at home all day, she was stronger and she decided to take a stroll to her mother's house when Mr. Garba came in.

"Rachel, you look amazing in that dress", he told her.

"Thank you sir, I was just about to go out when you came in", she told him.

"I can see but I came home because of you", he told her and her heart thumped wildly. "I want you to accompany me somewhere."

"Alright. Is it now? I want to check up on my mother. I haven't seen her ever since........"

Mr. Garba interrupted her. "Don't worry you will. I just need a company and it's for your own good."

"Alright, let me go change my dress", she muttered more like a whisper turning to go.

"No no! You are ok this way. Let's go", he said with a smile.

"Let me go take my purse and phone then", she said again.

"Ok, I will be waiting."

Rachel came out a few minutes later and they zoomed off.

There was absolute silence as they drove for a while before Mr Garba broke the silence. "Rachel you know you ought to be punished right?"

Rachel was silent. She knew he wouldn't forgive her so easily.

"I ordered you to kidnap and kill that boy but you went behind my back to ask for a ransom from his mother. Whereas you lied to me that you have killed him already. That aside, you also kidnapped Fola."

"I didn't kidnap her. She came all by herself", she defended herself.

"What is the difference? Secondly you lied about the pregnancy."

"I'm not lying. I am really pregnant."

"But the pregnancy is not for my son", he stated as a matter of fact.

"How could you say that sir? My pregnancy is 8 weeks gone now and Olamide and I had sex during that period."

"Do I look stupid to you? I know you are a desperate girl. How could you have sex with father and son? Don't you know it's a taboo? Even though I gave you two the permission to get married, courtesy demands that you turn it down since you did the unforgivable", he almost yelled as he kept on driving.

She was getting on his nerves and she knew it.

"I love your son", she told him hoping it will dissipate his anger.

"Stupid love. My son is not the father of the baby."

"He is."

"I said he is not. Olamide is impotent", he announced unwilling.

Rachel's mouth was agape and Mr. Garba regretted spilling it out.

********************

The car stopped in front of a mud house and Rachel wondered what they were doing there.

"What are we doing here?", she asked the angry man who only kept mute as they walked towards the house.

They entered the mud house and Mr. Garba smiled at the old man sitting on an old wooden chair.

"Wise one, good afternoon", Mr. Garba greeted prostrating.

Rachel also knelt down to greet him and the old man asked them to sit.

"My son, long time", he said to Mr. Garba.

"Indeed father. Well here I am. I told you I would come visiting soon."

"Yes you did. I am happy you came right on time", the man remarked.

Mr. Garba introduced: "Father, this is Rachel, my son's wife. They got married two weeks ago."

"Really? Rachel, you are welcome to the family", the man exclaimed with a surprised look on his face.

"Thank you sir", Rachel said with confusion.

"Adedayo, after some minutes come to see me inside. I want to go and pay homage to the gods on your behalf", he said to Mr. Garba standing up from the chair.

"Ok father", Mr. Garba responded as the old man disappeared into the other room.

"Is he your father?", Rachel asked Mr. Garba.

"You are stupid for saying that. How can he be my father?"

"You called him father, that's why I asked. What are we doing here by the way?"

"It's concerning your husband's impotency. He promised to help us once he gets married so that at least I can see my grandchildren through you before death comes knocking", Mr. Garba falsely explained.

"Oh", Rachel said and smiled to herself.

Few minutes later, Mr. Garba stood up and went into the little room the old man disappeared into leaving Rachel all alone in the little sitting room that only contained a black and white tv set, the old wooden chair and four plastic chairs.

"Adedayo, Adedayo, Adedayo, how many times did I call you?" the old man asked when Mr. Garba was fully inside.

"Three times father. What is the problem?", Mr. Garba asked with surprise and fear.

"I told you the gods want someone just like your late wife. The first girl you told me about, Folake or what is that her name is what we need."

"Father, I told you already that it is no longer possible. That girl is battling with her life in the hospital and there is a low tendency that she will make it. Let's make use of another alternative please", he pleaded.

"The only alternative is if this particular girl becomes pregnant. Olamide will be 29 by next weekend so she needs to be pregnant before then before we can use her or else our efforts will be fruitless. Since your son can't impregnant a woman, maybe you should have sex with her or look for someone who will impregnant her", the old man explained.

Mr. Garba smiled, "Baba, that is solved already. The girl is pregnant."

"Really?"

"Yes", Mr. Garba responded with pride.

"That's great. If you could remember clearly, 13 years ago when we killed your wife so you can flourish in everything you do, I made it known to you that you must do the same for your son. If your son flourishes, you will also flourish but if it is otherwise, that is impending doom for you both. That was why I asked you to look for a woman just like your wife for your son. But now that the case is different, the gods instructed us to get two people and since you have chosen this girl to be your sacrificial lamb, the condition is that she must be pregnant before we can use her. The pregnancy will supply the girl with whatever she is lacking spiritually and it will become a success. Once the girl dies, your generations to come will never know and taste poverty. But mind you, your son's impotency is gone forever since we can't get the first girl."

"Okay baba, how do we go about it now?", Mr. Garba inquired with confidence.

"Take this to her", the old man instructed, giving him a small calabash containing a white liquid substance.

"Tell her to drink it. After drinking it, she will fall asleep. You will go home and leave her here with me."

"Is that all?", Mr. Garba asked, taking the calabash from him.

"That is all. The baby will die first before the mother so maybe within 2-3 days, we will be done."

"Eshe baba (thank you). Let me quickly go and give her this", Mr. Garba said moving towards the exit. He got to the sitting room to meet the absence of Rachel.

Then reality dawned on him.

Rachel had eavesdropped on their conversation and escaped.

"No", he screamed as the calabash fell from his hand.